/

Jay selectpersons review sewer revenues, speed limits

4 mins read
The Jay Town Office
The Jay Town Office

JAY – The Board of Selectpersons reviewed the impact of new sewer and water consumption rates on this year’s revenue as well as requests from residents to post speed limit signs on town roads at this week’s meeting.

On May 9, the board approved a $25 increase to the minimum user rate of $275. Currently, the 807 users of the town’s sewer system pay a minimum of $250 annually, plus an additional 8 cents per each cubic foot of water exceeding 3,200 cubic feet. Of the 800-plus users, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere previously said, 336 paid the minimum last year.

Over the past five years the sewer rate has increased from 5.58 cents to 8 cents per cubic foot of water beyond the 3,200 cubic foot minimum, while the percentage of ratepayer coverage of the O&M budget has hovered between 72 and 76 percent. Selectpersons have, both at Monday evening’s public hearing and previous meetings, expressed a desire to eventually increase the rate to cover 100 percent of the sewer department’s O&M budget. Taxpayers would still cover debt payments on department facilities.

With the increase to the minimum rate, the board had eyed covering approximately 79 percent of the O&M budget with sewer revenue, an increase of $20,000 in revenue.

However, Superintendent Mark Holt informed the board Monday, the total amount of water consumption had decreased more than anticipated, from an estimated 4.7 million cubic feet down to 4.4 million cubic feet. That resulted in sewer fee revenue covering 77 percent of the O&M budget; up 1 percent from the previous year, but down 2 percent from the targeted split.

The drop in consumption meant a reduction of approximately $5,000 in revenue, Holt said. The O&M budget itself is down roughly $10,000 from the previous year.

One way to more accurately predict sewer revenues would be to set the rate at a later date, Holt suggested, after water consumption was known. Jay collects data from multiple water departments to compile its water usage numbers, typically using the winter quarter.

In other business, the board reviewed three requests made to town officials to post speed limit signs on town roads. Speed limits are set by the Maine Department of Transportation, who sends engineers that conduct traffic and speed surveys. By default, roads carry speed limits of 45 miles per hour unless driveways are clustered within 150 feet of each other for at least a quarter of a mile, at which point the speed limit is 25 mph.

Town officials estimated that there was 30 or so posted roads in town, with another 90 roads that were not posted.

LaFreniere noted that in some cases the state might set a new speed limit that was higher than the presumed limit. The town must buy the speed limit sign, at $80 per sign, after the MDOT sets the limit.

LaFreniere reviewed other towns’ policies and found that Bar Harbor allows residents to apply for MDOT review either through the selectboard or filling out a petition. Selectpersons suggested a similar policy might work for Jay, requiring multiple residents to agree to review the speed limit before triggering a MDOT survey.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

1 Comment

  1. I like the way Bar Harbor has there ordinance set up.
    The state has 8 engineers to cover the whole of Maine.
    Also you get a clearer picture of what resident populace wants.
    1 or2 complaints does not warrant a change.
    The biggest problem is making drivers obey the existing speed laws.
    Our police dept. is spread pretty thin and can’t be everywhere at once.
    Thank you

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.